Saudi-led coalition says it thwarted Houthi missile attack on Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Iranian-aligned Houthi group said on Saturday it had thwarted a ballistic missile attack by the Houthis on the Saudi capital Riyadh, and destroyed six armed drones launched towards southern Saudi cities.

A coalition statement carried on state media said the drones aimed to target "civilians and civilian objects" in the southern region, Jazan and Khamis Mushait.

Debris from the intercepted missile caused material damage to one house in Riyadh but there were no injuries or deaths, the kingdom's general directorate of civil defence said in a statement carried on state news agency SPA.


The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from power in the capital, Sanaa. The movement, which controls northern Yemen, has recently stepped up cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia.